Yekaterina Deimos
Yekaterina Deimos, known as the Grave Walker, is a High Inquisitor of the Ordo Hereticus, known throughout the Imperium as the Witch Hunters. She played a crucial role in the Cataclysmic Centurion War in the early 900's of the 41st Millennium, and now almost 200 years later, she still fights against the rising tide of Chaos. Little of certainty is known about the woman, though her credentials are of the highest order and as a result, her authority among the Inquisition is all but limitless. Clever, proud and at times haughty and aloof, she also has dark side and is utterly uncompromising, devoid of mercy or remorse, she acts as the self-appointed executioner of any she names Heretic. She is a psyker of immense power and a master swordswoman wielding the ancient master crafted Power Sword Hellreaver and an expert markswoman with her equally ancient master crafted Archaeotech Pistol she is a terrifying and iron-willed warrior and a firm adherent to the Emperor if not always to his Imperium. History Much of what is known of Yekaterina Deimos is swathed in falsehoods and outright lies. By her own words she was born on Terra itself in 912.M41 and was taken by the Inquisition at a young age and in time became an acolyte of an Inquisitor high in the standing of the Ordo Hereticus. She was elevated to the rank of full Inquisitor in 930.M41, at the unheard of young age of 18, Some whisper that she is much older than she claims, her lifespan extended by arcane methods and there are those that claim she was present during the Sabbat Worlds Crusade, whatever the truth it is likely that it will never be definitively known. Her first known persecution was that of the heretic Castus Ramaeus, the self styled Blood King of DeKere who she tried and executed mere solar months before the outbreak of the Centurion War in 931.M41 where she would earn a reputation as a brutal and remorseless killer. The Centurion War which tore the Centurion Sector apart started as a result of the hubris and arrogance of the sectors ruling Arch-Magos Atilla. The Inquisition was drawn to the fighting in the 9th Year of the war as the forces of Chaos were slowly being revealed as the architects of the entire conflict. Appearing unannounced to the crusades commanders, along with Inquisitor Vale of the Ordo Malleus, she presented the Inquisitorial Seal and thereafter joined the ever growing forces within the crusade although many noted that her actions were at many times random and she often showed indifference as to status of the War and seemingly pursued objectives of her own. Despite this seeming lack of interest to War, Commander Corvo had reconciled her credentials and required no other confirmation of her devotion. Although much of her activities during the War are unknown to many some have gone down in legend such as the Battle of Locan where she led a Phalanx of Red Hunter Terminators into the only breach of the heretic stronghold and some in infamy when she condemned a whole world to exterminatus for the crime of cowardice. She was however present for some of the most decisive moments of the War such as the assault on Granitan, the final battle on Iterium and the trial of the Knights of Guilliman where she presided over their sentencing. Her most noted action was the so-called Judgement of Corinth where over a period of several solar weeks she tried and executed over 50,000 of the worlds inhabitants who she suspected of aiding the enemy, many were certainly traitors but some were innocent of the charges levelled against them, this mattered not to Inquisitor Deimos who judged all to be guilty. The information concerning her activities since the end of the war are fragmentary at best and non existent at worst but one incident stands out and it occurred in the year 111.M42 against old foes in the shape of the renegade Astartes of the Bringers of Change and the Daemon Prince Charon. In the aftermath of the Great Rift and the resurgence of the forces of Chaos thousands of worlds throughout the Imperium were riven with heretics and traitors, thousands more were lost utterly to the Warp. But for the resurrection of the Ultramarines Primarch Roboute Guilliman the Imperium would have been destroyed, his Indomitus Crusade swept from Terra across the Galaxy liberating every world they could and bringing hope to trillions, but the Son of the Emperor couldn't be everywhere and many worlds had to weather the storm alone, unable to root out the Cults that sprang up in the great rifts wake and for many not even knowing they existed at all or wilfully ignoring them, Hades Prime, a civilised world located within the Tarentum Sub-Sector of the Segmentum Tempestus was one such world. Following reports of heretical cults on the planet Thracian Inquisitor Deimos began to unravel evidence that indicated that the the cults were planning something big , something that would tip the balance of power within the Tarentum Sub-Sector in favour of Chaos. A investigation of the city of vervun led her to Balorodin, a trader and known smuggler, when confronted he fled but was killed by Deimos's acolyte the sniper yelena. Documents found on his body and in his office showed that he made hundreds of trips to the world of Hades Prime in the neighbouring system over the previous 10 years. Upon arrival on the world Deimos immediately set about trying to find the reason for Balorodin's numerous visits. Hades Prime had suffered random attacks from heretics of the Claws of Light for much of the last century but the results of the Arbites actions against them were miniscule at best, eventually by following leads and amassing evidence deimos was drawn to the city of Iron Landing. There, Balorodin had met repeatedly with a man known only as the keeper who was found to be the local Marshall of the Adeptus Arbites, under interrogation the keeper revealed that Balorodin had been the final leg of a major smuggling enterprise that brought in weapons, artefacts and most importantly hundreds of non descript boxes, the keeper did not know what was in these boxes but claimed to have heard screaming and whispering whenever he was near to them. It was the keepers job to store these boxes before passing them onto a second agent known as the watcher. Tracking him took further efforts but he was finally cornered in the warehouse district, he put up a spirited fight but was soon subdued, he revealed what the boxes contained, Psykers, hundreds of Psykers. He also revealed what they were being used for, a summoning. The watcher taunted the Inquisitor and revealed that the summoning would be taking place within hours, angered Deimos crushed his skull with a simple gesture before she and her retinue headed out. En route to Ravens Hope Deimos began to sense that the ritual had begun, with every kilometre they travelled in her personal shuttle the feeling grew stronger. They arrived to find a scene of pandemonium, the city's inhabitants fleeing in terror from the central square where a great mass of Cultists had surrounded the Emperor's holy temple, Deimos recognised them immediately, they were the Disciples of Charon and amongst them stood massive Astartes of the Bringers of Change. Upon the walls of the Temple hanging by chains or crucified were the Psykers, they had been ritually butchered, their remains used to desecrate the Holy Place. Even as they approached Deimos could see they would be too late and with a deafening bang the temple exploded and in its place stood Charon Daemon Prince of Chaos, behind him a rift in the very fabric of reality daemons straining to emerge from its depths. Fire erupted from the disciples and the Aquila lander was brought down, crash landing within the heart of the Cultists killing dozens but barely denting their numbers, Deimos and her Retinue were unharmed, the Inquisitor using her immense power to psycilly shield them from any harm but she would not be able to maintain the shield indefinitely and they would then be overwhelmed by the Disciples. It was in this desperate moment that she unleashed her secret weapon, 100 Arco-Flagellants, combat servitors that are created from an Imperial citizen who has been condemned to the capital punishment of Arco-Flagellation, pumped full of a cocktail of narcotic stimulants that transforms them into frenzied whirlwinds of destruction utterly impervious to wounds. They were hidden in the hold of the Skjaldmær (Shield-Maiden) , ferried down by the ships landers they were directed at the mass ranks of the Disciples and their Astartes allies, this was enough to distract them while Deimos herself closed with the massive Daemon Prince, bellowing words of holy purity that the daemon was unable to withstand, Deimos fought with the strength of the Emperor. Bolts of lightning leapt from her hands and her mighty sword inflicted a dozen blows, each one grievous enough to fell a lesser being but barely troubling the mighty Daemon. By sheer force of will Deimos forced the massive daemon back, finally she punched her weapon clean through the daemon's chest, dragging out its still-beating heart, she crushed it in one gauntleted fist. Charon was sent screaming back into the warp to face the displeasure of his master, exhausted from the fight Deimos had one last duty, the rift had to be closed and in a display of breathtaking power she directed every ounce of her strength at the hole in reality until finally with deafening bang the Rift was closed. Concluding the wholesale slaughter of Charons mortal servants, Deimos launched a bloody purge of the surrounding cities that saw tens of thousands executed to ensure the purity of Hades Prime. Following these actions she travelled to the Segmentum Solar where she is currently fighting in the Necron Wars. Psychic Abilities Deimos is a psyker with almost grotesque power, sometimes described as an Alpha Plus, but as she has never been formally graded this is a speculative at best. She has been seen to mind skim whole hive cities in a search for specific persons, crush individual enemies with her mind, snap a Battle Titan in two with a flick of her wrist and with a muttered syllable turn an entire army upon itself in a frenzy of blood lust. Unlike some other Pyskers who follow only one discipline Deimos has mastered all of the Psychic Disciplines, Biomancy, Divination, Pyromancy, Psykana, Telekinesis and Telepathy and is able to call upon all in order to complete her goals, she has also mastered the art of Astrotelepathy and is able to communicate with others across vast distances. She has a number of psychic abilities including some that are unique and only used by her including: *''Maelstrom'' - Deimos unleashes the full telekinetic might of her mind, summoning a roiling psychic tempest that envelops her enemy, lifting them from the ground and ripping all within in a shower of gore *''Vortex of Terror'' - Deimos unleashes the full force of her psychic talents, with an utter disregard for reality, she opens up a flickering vortex in the fabric of space-time, any caught within will be pulled into the rift and torn apart by cackling daemons. *'Blood Cauldron '- Among her abilities is Blood Cauldron which with the overwhelming power of her own mind she instantaneously turns her foes blood into quicksilver, killing them instantly as their blood burns with heat of a sun. *''Lightning Storm'' - With charged air and the stench of ozone, Deimos reaches into the Warp and lets forth a blast of etheric lightning that crackles from her fingertips, burning through anything in her path. *''Inferno'' - Deimos reaches into the Warp and lets forth a stream of intense fire, that washes from her hands, incinerating anything in her path. Appearance & Wargear Although at least 200 years old she has the appearance of a woman in her late teens, Tall, lithe and beautiful, with high cheekbones and pale flawless porcelain skin and a finely-sculpted face and with intricate tattoos that snake their way across her entire body and head,Yekaterina Deimos cuts a striking figure, she is completely bald, with the exception of a large, red-dyed crest of hair on top of her head. Her pale blue eyes possess a noble and ageless quality faintly reminiscent of the Eldar. *'Charnel Plate' - An ancient suit of Master Crafted Vratine Power Armour dating back thousands of years and said to have once been worn by a high ranking member of the Sisters of Silence during both the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy, It is a subpattern of technologically-advanced battlegear which shares design elements with both the Power Armour of the ancient Legiones Astartes and the silicate-mesh of Selenite void-mail, though unlike either of those famed armours, it is not -- at least without additional gearing -- fully environmentally sealed or designed for extended operations. It does, however, provide formidable protection from ballistic impacts and directed energy weapons, and is tailored and forged uniquely to its intended wearer to allow for their complete freedom of movement and to augment their reaction speed. *'Enhanced Voidsheen Cloak' - The voidsheen cloak worn by Yeketerina Deimos is made from micro-vitreous mesh designed to diffract and absorb energy, and is particularly effective against diffuse attacks. Her cloak is further reinforced by a Rosarius as a mark of her rank and office. *''Hellreaver'' - An ancient master-crafted sword fashioned in the manner of a highly ornate two-handed Execution Blade perfectly weighted for the martial style of its wielder, with this blade Deimos can strike with the speed of a duellist combined with the killing might of a veteran executioner. The sword's true mystery lies in the substance of the blade itself, for it can cut almost anything without evidence of any kind of power field or disruption generator, its origins an enigma to all save perhaps the Emperor. Like the Armour she wears, the blade is said to have been used by the same high ranking Sister of Silence during the Great Crusade and Heresy *'Master Crafted Archaeotech Pistol' - An ancient sidearm dating back to the Age of Technology. This pistol is capable of firing a variety of projectiles, be they micro-atomic munitions or searing directed energy kill-rays that draws power from a planet's magnetosphere *'Digital Weapons' - Fitted into an ornate golden ring worn on her right hand. *'Frag, Psyk-Out and Krak Grenades' *''Skjaldmær'' ('''Shield-Maiden)' - Yekaterina's personal starship, a unique Battlecruiser as ancient as much of her possessions, the size of an Imperial Navy Battleship it has the firepower of a Retribution Class with the speed of a Lunar Class, a gigantic Nova Cannon juts from the prow, Macrocannons stud the Ships flanks alongside cavernous launch bays and along both flanks massive lance batteries able to cut through the thickest amour while metre thick plates of adamantium and overlapping void shields protect it from harm and inside its massive holds, ancient weapons of war wait until they called to battle once more. Despite it being a ship of war Yekaterina's personal quarters are lavishly decorated and are off-limits to all but her senior acolyte, the former Astra Militarum sniper Yelana. Personality Yeketerina Deimos is typical of Inquisitors of the Ordo Hereticus, clever, proud with a dark sense of humour and at times haughty and aloof, she also has dark side and is utterly uncompromising, devoid of mercy or remorse, she acts as the self-appointed executioner of any she names Heretic. An master Swordswoman, Expert Markswoman as well as an accomplished pilot she has served the Emperor for at least 200 Years. Whenever Deimos arrives in a system she often feels that the inhabitants have brought their own impending doom down upon themselves through their cowardice and lack of faith in the God-Emperor. This is readily apparent by her haughty attitude and the utter contempt she openly displays when dealing with the local populace of whatever world has had the misfortune to attract her gaze. Her demeanour is both mistrustful and openly aggressive, and like many of her kind, she is often unconcerned about the feelings of those who are her subordinates. Despite this she can be surprisingly kind to her retinue as long as they do not do anything that may compromise her work. Retinue Notable Acolytes *'Yelena Deimos''' - Yelena is Yekaterina's highest-ranking principal Acolyte, and holds the rank of Interrogator in the Inquisition, a former sniper of the Astra Militarum she has worked with Yekaterina since before the Centurion War, despite therefore being almost 200 years old she has the appearance of a woman in her late teens, the result of extensive rejuvenate treatments, Tall, lithe and beautiful, with high cheekbones and pale flawless porcelain skin and a finely-sculpted face, with pale blue eyes that possess a noble and ageless quality faintly reminiscent of the Eldar and short cropped blond hair Yelena Deimos cuts a striking figure. Wearing an exquisitely crafted suit of carapace Armour and carrying a Master Crafted Long-Las customised to her exact specifications she is a formidable foe. Although a originally a sniper she has proven to be equally adept when using a Hot-Shot Las or other weapon. Deaf when she was first recruited she has received implants of the highest quality along with expensive neural implants that give her superior reflexes and strength compared to unaugmented humans. Despite her name she is no relation to the Inquisitor merely taking her mistress's surname along with a new forename when she was recruited, her true name and the regiment she served have been lost to history, as noted before she is the only member of the retinue that is permitted to enter the Inquisitors private quarters. *'Prefect Ixion Aquillon' - A Prefect of the Adeptus Custodes, Ixion along with a Squad of Custodes were Assigned to protect the Inquisitor During her Operations in the Segmentum Tempestus. Ixion has served the Emperor for many years and fought during the Second Siege of Terra, he and his fellow Custodes are mighty warriors indeed, more powerful than even Astartes. Why a mere Inquisitor would be granted the protection of 5 Mighty Custodes can only be speculated at. *'Veteran-Sergeant Tenorius' - An Astartes of the Red Hunters, he has been seconded along with Squad Tenorius to the Ordo Hereticus for the duration of operations in the Segmentum Tempestus. A veteran of dozens of campaigns he has received extensive bionics and is now more machine than man. His skill and experience have been proven in numerous investigations. *'Jokaero Weaponsmith' - A small family group of Jokaero have made a home deep within the Skjaldmær. They appear at random throughout the ship using the labyrinth of ventilation shafts and tunnels and tinkering with the ships systems, sometimes to the crews annoyance, improving the targetors of a Macrocannon battery or simply changing the beam colour of the port Lance array from blue to red. They instinctively know not to tinker with the Wargear of the Inquisitor, the Custodes, the Astartes and the Soritas, leaving them well alone, they also have learned not to enter the Inquisitor's private quarters. *'Anastasia' - A former Sister Repentia, Anastasia left her order for reasons that are unknown, but the Sisters loss is very much the Inqusitors gain, her massive chainsword has become the bane of the Heretical and although it is only a matter of time before she falls, when that time comes she will take many with her. Known Acolytes of the Centurion War *'Pelton (Pilot)' - Killed during the Centurion War Current Acolytes *'Caractacus (Savant)' *'Rakel (Psyker)' *'Ferik Alabel (Pilot)' *'Magos Tannenburg (Tech-priest)' *'Konrad (Gunfighter)' *'Zemelda and Zerena (Death Cultist Assassins)' *'Julia Lestia (Adeptus Arbites Arbitrator)' *'Massimo (Interrogator)' *'Matthias Maxilla (Merchant Captain)' *'Kya Tellemain (Bounty Hunter)' *'Amberley (Bodyguard)' *'Castiel (Interrogator)' *'Elizebeth (Adepta Sororitas)' *'Katarinya Von Liese (Swordswoman)' *'Helena Von Liese (Warrior)' *'Mikael Sharpe (Sharpshooter)' Category:Characters Category:Imperial Characters Category:Inquisition Category:Michael50